Cornstalk shredder



Aug. 23,1927.

'T. E. BURNER CORNSTALK SHREDDER l Filed Jan.12', 1925 3 sheets-sheet 1 f 1,639,837 A'ng. 23, 1927. T'E. BURNER CORNSTALK SHREDDER I Filed Jan. 12. 1925y 3 sheets-sheet A2 INVENTOR. Q

` Aug. 23, 1927. 1,639,837

T. E. BURNER CORNSTALK SHREDDER Filed Jan.12. 1.92.5 s sheets-sheet 3 fyi nnunnunmnnnnnr.In-mum" IN VEN TOR.

Patented Aug. 23, 19,277.

UNITE@ STA.

THOMAS E. BURNER, OF CARTHAGE, ILLINOIS.

CORNSTALK SHREDDER.

Application filed Januaryvl., 1925. Serial No. 1,771.

Thisinvention relates to improvements in corn stalk shredders, and refers more particularly to a mechanical device which may be pulled over a corn iield after harvesting and the corn stalks shredded and disintegrated into relatively finestraw, facilitating its combination again with the soil for fertilizing purposes. l

Heretofore farmers have experienced considerable trouble'in breakingup and disintegrating corn stalks and in handling the ground when the corn stalks are not properly broken up and torn 'to pieces. There the ordinary corn stalk rcutter is used, the stalks are cut into twelve-inch lengths without shredding vthe `iibers and producing short, rigid lengths of the stalks which are a great nuisance in plowing or otherwise cultivating a lield either before planting or after the crop is planted, especially` if the second crop is corn, due to the fact that it is necessary to cultivate, and these short lengths of the corn stalks greatlyhinder proper cultivation.

The particular advantages of the mechanism, which is vthe subject-matter of this invention, are that it renders moreveflicient Vfarm implements and tools, such as disk plows, harrows,l cultivators or common .hand plows. Also, the stalks being shredded to relatively small, thin, fibrous strips, readily rot and disintegrate, ,causing the stalk. material to become more readily available as plantfood for 'the succeeding crops. Furthennthe ldisintegration of the Y n so fastened to the concave by means of a stalks into a material in the nature of straw permits the ground to be more easily worked and eliminates ditculties heretofore well lknown to the farmer where corn stalks are left in the field to rot without being broken up and shredded in the manner hereinafter described.

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of the device.

Fig. 2 is a plan view.

Fig. 3 is a view taken along the line 3-3 in Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a view taken along the line 4 4 in Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a view taken along the line 5-5 in Fig. 4.

Referring to the drawings, a frame 1 is mounted upon rear ground wheels 2 and front wheels 3. The front wheels are pivoted ona fifth wheel turning arrangement, shown diagrammatically at 4. Thel rear wheels have internal vgears 5 which mesh witlrpinions 6 mounted upon shaft 7 which supports a cylinder 8. Upon the periphery of this cylinder' are a. plurality of blades or cutters 9. Below the cylinder is positioned ya concave .element 10 upon which are situated stationary cutters 11, shown in Figs. 3 and 4. Thesev stationary cutting elements are postioned in staggered'relation with the rotating elements non the periphery of the cylinder in order that the rotatingfcutters will pass in relatively close relation with the stationary elements during operation. .The concave element is suspended from the shaft 7 means of brackets 12. At the rear lof the concave element is pivoted at 18 a link 14 which is connected at 15 to the tilting bar 16,-the opposite end of the bar being pivoted to the frame at 17. Vertical links 18 pivoted at to the tilting bars and at 19 to the crank arm 2O of the control handle 21, furnishes a means for raising the cutting assemblyV in an operative position yraising the 'gears 6 out of mesh with the ground wheel gears 5. The handle 21 is4 adjustable and may be set in any desired position by means of the spring latch device v22 engaging the toothed quadrant At the for-v .ward end of the concave are pivoted upon a rod 24a plurality or" teeth or tines 25 which extend forward substantially parallel to the ground and are anywhere from two .feetfto six feet in length. These teeth are corrugated or troughed support member 27 to permit vertical play of the forward ends of the teeth in order to compensate for the unevenness and inequality of the ground. It is obvious that the teeth will have this vertical play independent of each other, thus serving to rake up the stalks as the device is pulled through the field in spite of the unevenness of the ground.

The rake support 26 has connection through links 27 to the crank arms 28 connected to the control handle 29. This handle may be likewise adjusted by means of the tooth quadrant 30l and spring latch 31 to any desired position,-the function `of the lifting handle being primarily to raise the teeth from the ground in an inoperative position when the device is to be shifted from lield to field or is to be transported, Where Yitwill he torn apart uniformly Y .una

at which time it is desirable to have the distributed behind the machine, loosely septeeth raised te an inoperative position. lrated in an ideal manner for drying and as rl"he functioning of the mechanism is eflectively as ar hay tedder intended solely 50 5 briefly as follows: Ytor this purpose. The purpose ol` ren'iovmg rlhe corn stalk shredder is hauled over a the concave is to allow the hay to pass over corn ticle after vhe corn has been harvested, the cylinder without obstruction.

either by horse or tractor power, the Vteeth I claim as my invention:

25 being lowered to act similarly as the In a corn shredder, the combination 55 1D teeth 'of abull rake, picking up the stalks with'atrainer'mounted onV ground wheels,

from the ground and feeding them rearhavinggarsqniountedthereon LQ.. rakingrf. Lrdlvheentle' concave-ndthe, Y- k1iffteeth manually aflusustat ir ruft-he *frame* .,(ylinder which have been set in a shred for collecting the stalks -lroin the ground, a ding position by means of the handle 2l. gear driven shredding assembly havingy gears 60 15 A single operator is seated at 32 from which vmeshing with internal gears on the ground position he can control the cutting and tiltwheels to drive the shredder and manually Y ing device. The stalks whilen going betweenoperat d orraisingltheas emblyand 1- ff me cy linderanditl'ieco cave,are shredded invremoving the assembly nfrom driving relation to relatively line straw, which isY Ydischarged with theV ground Wheelsww i l ,Y 2Q trom'the rear ofthe cylinder'back on to the' l 2. ln a corn shredder, the combination ground where it may be easily worked with with al frame mounted on groundjwheels of the earth or very readily combined with the spaced apart rakingv teeth mounted thereon soil by rotting due to its disintegrated ccntor collecting stalks `trom the ground, staL Y dition. The tilting device also facilitates tionary disintegrating members, a rotating 'i0 25 the turning of the machine at which time the shredder driven from the ground Wheels and pivoting of the machine might` cause the adapted to coact with the stationary membreaking or the elongated tines. its debers to shred the stalks and distributethe scribed, the machine is oper ted byv liorseo-v shredded stallnjrtri the ground, means tor'adl j wminechanieal* power."""l`lie*Wl ftlieiiia "justiiig tliicpcsitionofthe' Araking teethfand 't5' i lllltylhelali lrinrordertoVmclude anyrrrwineansrte raisingjftha cuttingassembly-"nut Si des d number or rows Votcornf Normally, of driving relation with the'driving mechaa width of including two rows is sutlicient, nism. l althoughvit is understood that the invention 3. In va corn shredder, the combination is not limited in any way to any particular with a frame mounted onground wheels, 80 3,5 dimensions. rilhe device may thus be used having gears mounted thereon', of raking to rapidly break up and disintegrate in rela-p teeth manually adiustable trom thefframe "s"tivelyncinepartiolestlie Y"c'rifstalks aiidmaisuamjtor collecting tne stalks tren" 'tbe fr und, a

consequence there is less ditiiculty infurtlier cutting or shredding assembly comprisingY Y cultivating the ground for further crops. a lower stationary memberr having cutters B5 Y l() The" Amachine as hereinbetore explained and a rotating drum with cutters'on-the` pe- Vmay be converted into a hay tedder by reriphery thereof adapted to coact withthe stamoving the concave and its related parts. tionary cutters to shred the stalks, said lVith the concave removed, the machine may shredding assembly carried by and driven'by be pulled through a hay lield after the hay gears meshing with gears on vthe ground 99 45 has been cut. The hay will be picked up by wheels. f v

V lllerlongpteethLY 235r and pied tn l 

